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Jennifer Chen Disappears; Huge Gambling Debts Reported

Taiwanese billiard superstar Jennifer Chen is reportedly missing and believed to be hiding from gangsters after running up enormous gambling debts.

Asian TV and print media have been buzzing about Chen’s disappearance since early August, reporting that the 31-year-old WPBA pro allegedly had lost as much as $600,000 gambling on Taiwanese and U.S. baseball, and the 2006 World Cup.

Reports of her whereabouts have varied, with some claiming she has gone into hiding in Hong Kong, and others claiming she has fled to the U.S.

It’s a case with the whiff of the sensational in Taiwan, where the photogenic Chen has long been a celebrity as a pool player, sports broadcaster and actress.

According to a report in the Aug. 13 edition of the Taipei Times, prosecutors in a related case involving a gambling ring were able to gather intelligence on Chen’s gambling debts. Allegedly, gangsters met with Chen on July 24 and demanded that she give up her Taipei residence in order to cover the debts, the Times reported. Chen went missing soon after the meeting.

WPBA officials have not heard from Chen since mid-June, according to tour director Peg Ledman. Chen did not compete in the WPBA’s Florida Classic in late June, nor the Midwest Classic, held July 27-30 in East Peoria, Ill., dropping her ranking to 19th.

Chen told Ledman in mid-May that she did not intend to play in the two events, and that she instead would be working with an acting coach, the tour director said. Their last contact was in mid-June, when Chen confirmed via telephone that she would not attend the Florida Classic.

Chen won a bronze medal in billiards at the 2001 World Games and a silver medal at the 2005 World Games.

Kim Breezes Through Enerva Asian 9-Ball Championship

Reigning back-to-back world champion Ga Young Kim of South Korea has another title to add to her growing resumé, with a win at the Enerva Asian 9-Ball Tour Championship, held April 26-28 at Robinson’s Gallera in Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

Kim defeated Shu-Pin Kao of Chinese-Taipei, 11-4, in the finals to clinch the the top purse of $10,000. Kao received the runner-up prize of $5,000. Losing semifinalists Yuan Chun Lin and Jui-Fang Fan of Chinese-Taipei got $2,500 each.

Suffering at the hands of the undefeated Kim in the winners’ bracket were Chieh-Yu Chou of Chinese, Taipei, 9-7, Sakiko Namiki of Japan, 9-5, Jennifer Chen of Chinese-Taipei, 9-3, and Kao, 9-5, respectively.

Kao was able to get back in contention after topping the losers’ bracket with Fan. Kao beat lone Filipina quarter finalist survivor Irish Ranola, 9-6, while Fan inched out Chen, 9-7.

In the single-elimination matches between the top four players, Kao yanked the carpet out from under tied-for-top finisher Lin, 9-8, while Kim battered Fan, 9-5.

In the final, Kim posted three consecutive racks to take a 3-0 lead in the opener. Kao was never able to overcome Kim’s lead, despite some momentum gained after connecting a difficult 2-9 combo for a 4-9 count. Kim regained control, taking the last two racks for a final score of 11-4.

White Upsets Corr in WPBA Nationals Round Three

In round three on the winners’ side of the Women’s Professional Billards Tour’s Cuetec Cues National 9-Ball Championship, newly elected WPBA President Kim White, ranked No. 41, upset No. 2 Karen Corr, 9-6.

The year-end event, being held at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Ore., Nov. 9-13, is down to eight women on the no-loss side going into round four Saturday morning. Sixteen players remain in the one-loss bracket.

At 11am today, the one-loss survivors will duke it out. Melissa Little plays Julie Kelly, Tracie Hine faces Jennifer Barretta, Jennifer Chen faces Megan Minerich and Sarah Rousey plays Karen Corr, among other matches. At 2:30 this afternoon, the winners’ brack will be reduced to four players. Those matchups are Allison Fisher against Tiffany Nelson, Kelly Fisher against Monica Webb, Ga Young Kim against Gerda Hofstatter and Vivian Villarreal against the rampaging White.

GIFT OF GOLD COMES TO CHANG, OUSCHAN, GREENE AND SANCHEZ

As he stood on the medal stand late Sunday afternoon at the Saalbau arena in Bottrop, Germany, Pei-Wei Chang still had a look of amazement on his face. The 26-year-old from Chinese Taipei was the recipient of the gold medal in Men’s 9-Ball at the 2005 World Games, in large part because he was the fortunate recipient of an unfortunate shot.

After making numerous errors in the final games of his gold-medal match against Thorsten Hohmann, allowing the German to make up a 10-6 deficit, Change sat helplessly watching Hohmann work his way carefully through the case rack. But the German undercut a simple shot at the 7 ball in the side pocket, handing the World Games gold to the thankful Taiwanese player.

“I was very, very lucky,” said Chang, runnerup to Alex Pagulayan at the 2004 World Pool Championship. “I gave the match to him, and he gave it back.”

Chang was joined by 18-year-old Austrian Jasmin Ouschan (Women’s 9-Ball), England’s Gerard Greene (Snooker) and Daniel Sanchez of Spain (Carom) as gold medalists, as the billiard competition concluded.

Ouschan, two-time European champion, handled error-prone Jennifer Chen of Chinese Taipei, 9-5, showing steely nerves and a razor-sharp game the belies her 19 years. The Austrian trailed 1-0 against Chen, but rolled out to a 7-2 lead, then buckled down for two solid run-outs to secure the match after Chen had fought back to 7-5.

Sanchez and Holland’s Dick Jaspers put on a nifty 3-cushion exhibition for the capacity crowd at the Saalbau, with Jaspers using a run of 11 to take an 18-14 lead after just four innings. The match stayed close throughout, with Sanchez scoring twice in the 15th inning to reach 40 points. Jaspers responded with three from the break in his half of the inning to tie the match and force a playoff. Each player started with an opening break, with the player who scores more points awarded the victory. Sanchez ran just two from the break shot, but won the match after Jasper’s cue ball froze to an object ball after his break shot. His futile attempt failed, and Sanchez, who won the gold medal at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan, nabbed the top prize.

Greene, a 31-year-old, upset Chinese sensation Junhui Ding, in the snooker finale, rebounding from a 3-1 frame deficit to win, 4-3. The final frame was not decided until Greene banged home a cross-side shot on the green for a 71-45 win.

But it was the seesaw, emotionally draining Chang-Hohmann match that had the crowd buzzing. Confident and precise, Chang raced off to a 4-0 lead in the race-to-11. But a poor safety attempt in the fifth rack gave Hohmann a chance to loosen his powerful arm, and quickly the match was knotted at 4-4. Hohmann earned what would be his only lead at 5-4, then Chang returned to form and won four consecutive games for a seemingly insurmountable 10-6 lead. With alternating breaks, Chang would have at least three opportunities to close out the match. A scratch on the 1 ball turned into a two-game swing, as Hohmann cleared that rack, then ran out from the break to cut the lead to 10-8.

Chang then missed a long, but simple, shot on the 2, and the lead was down to a single game. Even after Hohmann scratched on his break in the next game, Chang failed to get out, hooking himself on the 4 ball and fouling on his kick attempt. In the case game, Chang opened with a soft 1-5 combination, but again he ended up hooked on his next shot. Chang barely clipped the 1, and left Hohmann a table-length cut on the 1 along the bottom rail. And when Hohmann sliced the 1 in, much to the delight of the partisan crowd, Chang’s fate appeared sealed.

But Hohmann left himself a thin cut on the 7 ball to the side pocket, and left the 7 dangling in the jaws. A shocked Chang carefully pocketed the final three balls for the gold medal.

Hohmann, Chen Reach Gold Medal Match

The opening lag turned out to be Thorsten Hohmann’s best friend in his semifinal match against American Rodney Morris at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany Saturday afternoon.

Winning the lag earned Hohmann the advantage of breaking in the deciding game in the alternating break, race-to-11 format. And with the score tied 10-10, the German star ran a flawless rack from the break to win the match and advance to Sunday’s Gold Medal match. Hohmann awaits the winner of the second semifinal, pitting Greek surprise Vangelis Vettas against Chinese Taipei’s Pei-Wei Chang. Morris will play the loser of that match for the Bronze Medal Saturday evening.

In women’s 9-ball, Women’s Professional Billiard Association star Jennifer Chen, of Chinese Taipei, defeated Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung, 9-4, to earn a spot in the Gold Medal match. Chen awaits the winner of the semifinal matchup of former WPBA regular Line Kjorsvik and Austrian teen Jasmin Oschan.

Eighteen-year-old Chinese snooker sensation Jun-Hui Ding cruised into the Men’s Snooker Gold Medal match with a convincing 4-1 win over England’s Mark Allen. Ding dropped his second 100-plus break in the match, posting a 102 in the third set. Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer meets England’s Gerard Greene to determine Ding’s opponent.

And in Carom, Dick Jaspers of Belgium scored 40 points on his 40th birthday to defeat Turkey’s Semih Sayginer, 40-26 in 28 innings. Defending World Games champion Daniel Sanchez of Spain will play Turkey’s Murat Coklu in the second semifinal match Saturday afternoon at the Saalbau arean in Bottrop, site of the cue sports competitions.

The World Games is the largest gathering of non-Olympic sports, with more than 3,000 athletes representing more than 100 countries. The cue sports made their World Games debut in 2001 at Akita, Japan.

Gold Medal Matches Set

CHANG, OUSCHAN ADVANCE AT WORLD GAMES

Pei-Wei Chang of Chinese Taipei cruised past unheralded Vangelis Vettas of Greece, 11-7, Saturday afternoon to move into Sunday’s Gold Medal match against German Thorsten at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany. Chang, runnerup to Alex Pagulayan in the 2004 World Pool Championships, never trailed in the match.

In the women’s 9-ball division, 18-year-old Jasmin Ouschan, of Austria handled former WPBA player Line Kjorsvik of Norway, 9-5. Ouschan will meet WPBA star Jennifer Chen of Chinese Taipei for the Gold Medal.
In Snooker, 31-year-old Brit Gerard Greene defeated Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer, 4-2, to move into a Gold Medal match against 18-year-old Chinese sensation Jun-Hui Ding.

And in Carom, defending World Games gold medalist Daniel Sanchez beat Turkey’s Murat Coklu, 40-27 in 29 innings. Sanchez will meet Belgian Dick Jaspers for the Gold.

“Rocket” Lone US Medal Hope

Rodney Morris overcame an early 4-1 deficit against Germany’s Thomas Engert Friday evening to win 11-8 and advance to the semifinals of the men’s 9-ball division at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, Germany. With the ousters Friday of Charlie Williams and Vivian Villarreal, Morris is the only U.S. contestant remaining in the four cue sport medal categories.

Morris will face former world 9-ball champion and reigning Billiard Congress of American Open 9-Ball Champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany on Saturday for the right to play in the Gold Medal game. Hohmann squeaked past Sweden’s Tom Storm, 11-10, to earn his semifinal spot. The other Saturday semi in the men’s division will pit China’s Pei-Wei Chang against surprising Vangelis Vettas of Greece. Vettas, who shocked Germany’s Ralf Souquet in the opening round of the 16-player single-elimination field, dumped Williams, 11-7, on Friday. Chang, 2004 World Pool Championship runnerup, beat Holland’s Niels Feijen, 11-7.

In Women’s 9-Ball, Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung beat Villarreal, 11-8, to earn a spot in the semifinals. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Chen, who upended Allison Fisher, Jasmin Oschan of Austria, and Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.

Two Turks, Semih Sayginer and Murat Coklu, earned semifinal spots in the Men’s Carom discipline, along with Dick Jaspers of Holland and defending champion Danny Sanchez of Spain.

Men’s Snooker saw 18-year-old Jun-Hui Ding post a 138 clearance enroute to a 3-0 win over Germany’s Lasse Munstermann. Ding reached the semis along with Amateur World Champion Mark Allen of England, countryman Gerard Greene and Belgium’s Bjorn Haneveer, who overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat England’s Gavin Pantall, 3 sets to 2.

World Games Quarterfinals Set

Americans Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams and Vivian Villarreal will take U.S. medal hopes into quarterfinal matches today at the World Games in Duisburg, Germany.

In men’s 9-ball, Morris, who routed Aruba’s Roland Acosta, 11-4, on Wednesday, will face Germany’s Thomas Engert, and Williams, an 11-7 winner over Japan’s Massashi Hoshi, will battle Vangelis Vettas of Greece. Vettas shocked Germany’s Ralf Souquet, 11-10, in the opening round of the 16-player single-elimination event.

Villiarreal, the lone U.S. competitor in the women’s 9-ball division, faces Korea’s Sung-Hyun Jung. Defending champion Jeanette Lee pulled out of the competition at the last minute because of impending back surgery.

Sweden’s Tom Storm, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann, Holland’s Neils Feijen and Chinese star Pei-Wei Chang round out the final eight in the men’s division.

Top-ranked Allison Fisher, Taiwan’s Jennifer Chen, Italy’s Tiziana Cacciamani, Austria’s Jasmine Ouschan, Japan’s Yukiko Hamanishi and former WPBA regular Line Kjorsvik of Norway make up the remaining women competitors.

Men’s carom billiards and men’s snooker is also being contested at the international sports festival, which is seen as an important stepping stone for the cue sports’ Olympic Games hopes. Two high-ranking officials, Kelly Fairweather, Sports Director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Ron Froelich, President of the International World Games Association (IWGA), were on hand at the Saalbau arena in Bottrop for the opening matches of the billiard competition.

Surprises Galore at BCA 9-Ball Tilt!

The BCA Open 9-Ball Championships, the first of the year’s three “majors” in pool, has yielded some big surprises in the early going in Las Vegas this week. After three days of play, the ranks of the undefeated on the men’s side had narrowed to Johnny Archer, Thorsten Hohmann and the largely unknown Chris Szuter and Filipino Marlon Manalo. Big names like Gabe Owen, Charlie Bryant and Cory Deuel suffered early exits in the competition.

Over on the women’s side, Hall-of-Famer Ewa Laurance was riding a jaw-dropping hot streak that put her in the winners’-bracket semifinal against Karen Corr, while Allison Fisher faced off against the vastly improved Tiffany Nelson. (Laurance’s impressive list of victims included Julie Kelly, Jennifer Barretta and Jennifer Chen.) Even more surprising was the notable absence among those still playing — British sensation Kelly Fisher, who scored her first Classic Tour win in April but went 0-2 at the BCAs.

Fisher Takes Fifth Amway Title

Fisher grabbed Amway title number five.

Fisher grabbed Amway title number five.

Allison Fisher has taken her fifth Amway Cup title. The Amway Cup World Women Billiards Invitational was held May 6-9 in downtown Taipei, Taiwan.

In the final, televised live on Taiwanese television station Videoland, Fisher bested Korea’s Ga Young Kim, 11-6. Fisher collected $24,000 for her win. Kim took home $12,000 for second place.

The rest of the field finished as follows: 3. Karen Corr; 4. Shin-Mei Liu; 5. (tie) Yuan-Chun Lin, Wendy Jans; 7. (tie) Jasmin Ouschan, Jennifer Chen; 9. (tie) Shu-Han Chang, Jeanette Lee; 11. (tie) Jennifer Barretta, Kajitani Akimi.